Unsted Park School Local Offer

Transcription

1 Unsted Park School Local Offer Name of site Address Contact names Unsted Park School Munstead Heath, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1UW Richard Johnson (School Principal) Telephone number address Website address Facebook / Twitter feed Facebook.com/priorygroup 1. What does your service do? Unsted Park School is an independent Residential Special School for young people aged 7-19 that have a diagnosis of high functioning autism. The school is registered for up to 75 young people, and has capacity for 21 residential placements. The school aims to meet the needs of the students through the delivery of Individual Educational Plans and Care Plans. The school provision includes qualified and experienced teachers, teaching assistants and care workers. There is also a multidisciplinary therapy team consisting of qualified occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, an emotional and art therapist and a part time consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist. The school aims to develop young people academically, socially and emotionally so that they can take an active part in society as an independent adult. 2. How are decisions made about who can use your service? Entry to the school is usually initiated by parents and or local authorities. The referral process involves the school making an assessment based on the young person s statement or EHCP. The Principal, SENCo, head of Care and child and adolescent psychiatrist will review the young person s documentation and make an initial judgment. If from this initial consideration a decision is made to proceed, then we will either invite the young person into school to have a look round or visit them in their current placement. Home visits can be arranged if the young person is out of school. This can then be followed up with an assessment visit

2 where the young person joins the school typically for 2 days for diagnostic assessment. In the case of a residential placement the assessment will take place over 3 days and 2 nights. Following these visits, if the assessment has concluded we could meet the needs of the young person, the school will contact parents and the local authority with a formal offer of a place. The local authority and the parents would then consider the contents of the offer letter and advise accordingly. 3. How will college staff support the child/young person? All young people are allocated a form tutor and a form teaching assistant. It is the responsibility of the form tutor to ensure that the needs of the student are met. The form tutor meets with other staff to prepare and monitor the IEP; in some case where the student is particularly anxious or vulnerable they will also be allocated a key worker. This person will spend planned 1:1 time with the young person every half term. The form tutor can also refer the young person to the therapy team if there is a case for additional support. If the young person is a residential student they will automatically be allocated a key worker and they would be responsible for managing and implementing care plans and liaising with parents. 4. How will the curriculum be matched to the child s/ young person s needs? As an independent school, we base our curriculum on the national curriculum but we have flexibility to change the curriculum emphasis to meet individual needs. The school is able to offer functional skills, entry level, GCSE, BTEC and A level courses. We can also offer vocational based courses and supported placements in local colleges.

3 On entry, we find that students often have uneven profiles and/or gaps in their learning. We are therefore prepared to devise and implement very individualised and specialised learning plans. Equally students can be entered for some examinations either early or where they have a particular strength. Within class groups, teachers are aided by teaching assistants and can and do offer support and/or differentiated materials. The key is that each individual is supported to learn at a pace that gives them success and lowers anxiety. 5. Do you offer any therapeutic services? Unsted Park School employs therapists to deliver programmes directly and/ or indirectly as identified in the statement / EHCP. We currently employ a full-time speech and language therapist, 2 full-time occupational therapists, a part-time art therapist (2 days per week), and a part-time consultant child psychiatrist (one day a month). The team is additionally supported by a full time therapy support assistant who specializes in animal therapy. We are hoping to recruit a part time Clinical Psychologist (2 days per week) and a further Senior Speech and Language therapist to further strengthen and diversify the therapeutic provision within the school. The level of provision is reviewed annually so that we have sufficient capacity to meet the needs of the students. 6. How does the school celebrate the success of children with SEND? There are many opportunities to celebrate success of the students. These include an e-praise rewards system with associated certificates and shop, a termly reward trip and termly parents morning and reports. 7. How will the parent/carer know how their child/young person is doing and how will you help the parent/carer to support their child s learning? All key workers make telephone or contact with parents to report the week s events, the school also has a VLE called The Life Cloud and parents can message staff through this medium. All young people have an IEP and this has clear targets that are reviewed half termly, this is reported to parents termly. Teachers set curriculum targets which take the form of national curriculum levels and on a termly basis, parents are informed of the success the young person is having in relation to these. Students are involved in setting targets and reviewing these targets. IEPs are sent home for parents to contribute to and to sign. As part of the annual review process parents and students engage in discussions to determine with school staff the IEP priorities for the year. The school has an active parent forum and training sessions for parents are included in the annual programme.

4 8. What support will there be for the child s overall well-being? The form tutor and key worker system is monitored by a senior member of staff so that pastoral needs remain a high priority. The school therapy team and school psychologist work with form tutors and key workers to supplement the daily activities and programmes. As an AS provision the direct involvement of the OT and SALT is vital to ensure the school environment is managed to reduce anxiety and stress. Mood management and mood awareness aim to reduce the stress on students and promote well being. The school has a medical room and all members of staff are first aid trained. In addition, a number of staff are trained in the safe management of medicines on the school site. This includes the safe distribution and monitoring of prescription and homely remedies. The school operates a positive reward system that has clear rules and boundaries and where necessary clear consequences. Ensuring that learning and social opportunities are appropriately supported means that most behavioural issues that arise from anxiety are reduced. The school has a high staffing ratio and well trained aware staff so for the vast majority of the time the atmosphere is calm and relaxing. The school has an engaged and effective school council, students are encouraged to express their views and contribute to developments at the school. At key points the school seeks the views of the students through questionnaires and uses this information to plan improvements. Students also have the opportunity to contribute to staff appointments. 9. What specialist services, training and expertise are available at or accessed by the school? The school employs a consultant child psychiatrist who offers advice clinics and training so that other members of staff are able to seek specialist advice. All members of staff have completed Level 2 and Level 3 autism specific training delivered by the on-site autism leads and Priory Director of Autism respectively.

5 10. How will children/young people be included in activities outside the classroom and how does the school ensure that children with SEND are able to access leisure and residential activities? The school accesses the local environment as part of the school curriculum. In addition the school uses its extensive grounds as an educational resource. The school offers sporting and leisure activities including canoeing, archery and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Students also take part in theatre visits and museum and art gallery trips. All activities are risk assessed and staffed so that all students can participate. The school has good links with local colleges and student access mainstream courses with support from school staff. Residential students are encouraged to access local clubs and activities and shop in the local community. 11. Does your school offer any outreach? The school offers training and outreach support to local schools and colleges. 12. How accessible is the school environment? The school buildings are accessible with lifts in both buildings. The classrooms and care facilities take into consideration auditory and visual needs of the young people and to support the needs of the students we aim to create a low stimulus sensory environment. There are accessible toilet facilities across the site. 13. How will the school prepare and support the child for transition or the next stage of education and life? Transitions are well managed whether they relate to daily routines, weekly routines, termly routines or transitions to different stages of education. Members of staff use visual timetables, social stories, back chaining and other techniques to help manage change. The school also aims to encourage and develop independence. Academic success is supported, as are the social and emotional demands of growing up. The school supports transition from primary to secondary and holds options evening to engage students in curriculum choices for GCSE and A level. We have strong links with local colleges and work with families to ensure that success after Unsted Park School is maintained. Students also have the opportunity to learn life skills through travel training, work experience and by engaging in vocational college courses. 14. How is the decision made about what type and how much support the child will receive? The statement / EHCP is used to guide the level of support and the type of input a student requires. However, this is constantly kept under review and staff, parents and students can make referrals to therapy services or make requests for additional resources of the student is not making expected progress. The school operates an open door policy and actively encourages parents to contribute to planning and allocation of resources. All additional interventions will have measurable outcomes and these are reviewed at termly intervals.

6 15. Do you have a children's/young persons council? The students participate in the life of the school through the student council. Residential students also meet weekly and are encouraged to evaluate the provision and suggest improvements. 16. Does the school provide any specialist equipment (e.g Sensory)? The school has a fully equipped OT gym, a ROMPA sensory room, fully equipped science laboratories, an indoor swimming pool a small indoor sports gym and a DT and FT room. Each of the residential units has a kitchen and dining room so that students can cook their own food. 17. How do you support young people to move onto the next stage of their life? We have a sixth form and we very much see this time to not only achieve academically and socially but to prepare for the future. We support the high aspirations of the students and parents and will work with them to ensure that the next stage of life is well planned and prepared for. We have experience of supporting students into local colleges, universities and work. On the residential side students learn about independent living and they have the opportunity to budget, to shop, cook for themselves and to clean their room and do their own laundry. 18. Where do young people go when they leave your service? Higher or Further Education, work experience or apprenticeship programme. 19. Promoting Fundamental British Values Through our provision of SMSC, we actively promote the Fundamental British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Opinions or behaviours that are contrary to these values are actively challenged. Get in touch To make the process of referring a young person into Priory Education Services as seamless as possible or for further information about Unsted Park School, please contact our dedicated enquiries office today on